Arguments of Social Drinking Advocates and Response

1.   “Jesus turned water to wine in John 2.”

      a.   There is one word in the Greek used to identify either alcoholic or non-alcoholic grape juice = oinos (the same is true for the Septuagint = Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture)

      b.   Identification of alcoholic wine:

            i.   Gen 9:21, 24 - “(Noah) drank of the wine (oinos) and was drunk” . . . “Noah awoke from his wine” = Noah sobered up

            ii.  Gen 19:32-35 Lot’s daughters made him drunk with wine

            iii. Revelation 17:2 “they were made drink with the wine . . .”

      c.   Identification of non-alcoholic wines:

            i.   Isaiah 16:10 - “tread out the wine (oinos) in the presses”

            ii.  Matthew 9:17 - putting new wine (oinos) in old wineskins

      d.   Do “the good wine” and “well-drunk” of John 2 necessitate alcoholic content?

            i.   Pliny (1^st cent. Roman scholar) - “wines are most beneficial when all their potency is removed by the strainer.”

            ii.  Plutarch (1^st cent. Greek historian) - “wine . . . ‘is much more pleasant to drink’ when it ‘neither inflames brain or infests the mind and passions’ because its strength has been removed through frequent filtering.”

            iii. “Well drunk” only indicates that those present were satiated, that is, full of drink, and not an indication of intoxication.

            iv. The text says there were 6 waterpots capable of holding 20 - 30 gallons each. Thus, the amount of wine created by Jesus was between 120 - 180 gallons. Would Jesus create this much alcohol for a group already described (according to the argument) as well drunk?

      e.   The potency of 1^st century wines was 2-3% alcohol by volume. Modern beer is 5%, and wines are 12-25% alcohol by volume. Also, if wines were thought to have alcoholic content, they were often diluted with water.

2.   “Paul told Timothy to drink wine.” (cf 1 Timothy 5:23)

      a.   In truth, Paul told Timothy to quit drinking water only, but to use a little wine for medicinal purposes.

      b.   This does not imply the use of alcoholic wine, though it could, but only for occasional illnesses.

      c.   2 Timothy 3:15 - Timothy had known the scriptures from his youth, and as such refrained from any use of alcohol as a means to maintain his purity.

3.   “Deacons are not to be given to much wine.”

      a.   Sophroneo = “sober,” meaning in one’s right mind (2 Cor 5:13), but also refers to soberness vs drunkenness (1 Th 5:6-8). From the Greek nephaleos = free from the influence of alcohol

      b.   Wives of elders & deacons are to be sober (1 Ti 3:11), but elders and deacons may use alcohol in moderation (1 Ti 3:3, 8)?

      c.   Titus 2:1-6 - aged men are to be sober (v 2 - nephaleos), while aged women are not to be given to much wine (v 3). Also, there is no word concerning sobriety given to young men and women. Are they free to do as they please?

      d.   Leviticus 10:8-11 the use of alcohol was forbidden of the priests

4.   1 Peter 2:11 “Abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul.”

            i.   Alcohol is involved in 30% of all suicides; 50% of all homicides; and 68% of all manslaughters.

            ii.  Alcohol is involved in 52% of all rapes and sexual assaults; 48% of all robberies; 62% of all assaults; and 49% of all other violent crimes.

            iii. In 1992, alcohol cost society $148 billion (NIAAA - National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism website FAQ .)

            iv. Between 1977 - 1997, over 600,000 killed on America’s highways in alcohol-related accidents (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Report).

            v.   1995 report – 14 million Americans abuse alcohol; that is 1 in 13 of all Americans (NIAAA website).